Life Lessons From a 30-something!

Finally, I wrote this post which I wanted to write always. A birthday post. I once wrote a poem on my birthday but that was long back.

Three decades is a long time in one’s life. You meet so many people, learn too many lessons. Some stick to your heart and some are hurtful. Both, people and lessons. I have also learned few bits and discovered some pieces along the journey called life. Today, as I write this, I am trying to see my life through my memory lenses and that’s really a good feeling.

This list is a compilation of my experiences and learnings which I have picked up from my surroundings, incidents and people around me, not in any particular order.

Judge Yourself
You don’t have the right to judge someone other than you and it takes discipline to master in this judgemental world. You never know the WHYs behind a person’s choice. Why judge then?

Respect Personal Boundaries
Personal space/boundaries seem to be very alien concept to some people. I haven’t yet figured out the reason. Just because you are related to someone, you can step into their personal space. It’s a strict ‘No’ my friend. Respect the boundary. Tangled lines often result in knots.

Read Books
Read them and devour them. Mom always tells me that books are your best friends. They never ditch you. Instead, they fill you with warmth and knowledge. She gave me this habit at age 3. There had been times when I hardly read more than 2 books in a year. But, as they say, it takes discipline to maintain good habits. I am working on this and I must say, I get a different kind of joy while reading. I read 24 books in 2016. Comparing to that, I am little behind this year.

Expect Less
Keep the bar of expectations at zero. I know, it’s better said than done. But great happiness comes from doing difficult things and this is one such difficult task. Not expecting from people and relations is the key to happiness. That being said, I will also say that never stop expecting from yourself. It will keep you motivated.

Love Yourself
Love is peace and loving yourself is nirvana. People will like you, dislike you for various reasons but the real challenge is, among all the different souls, can you love yourself? Can you see the goodness within you? According to people around me, I am a narcissist and I am proud of it. I love myself and I promise myself to never let go of this feeling.

Pursue Your Passion
Passion is the oxygen of life. We come in this world, live and go. A life lived without a passion is a wasted life. The fire, the desire to follow your passion should keep you alive.

Control Your Anger
Anger is bad. I am almost angry all the time because of people, circumstances and zillion other things which are not in my control. I still have to learn anger management.

Smell Flowers
Take the time to smell Flowers. Talk to them and they will talk back to you. We are always in hurry in life. As a kid, I always wanted to have a garden of my own. I always wanted to tend flowers, watching them grow and bloom. I always wanted to have that colourful corner, my corner. Now, we do container gardening in our backyard. The first thing after getting back from work is to go see my corner, our sweet little colourful corner.

Un-divided Attention
In smartphone era, un-divided attention is a luxury. It is costlier than the costliest thing. Do not stare on your phone when someone is talking to you. Do not capture the moment if you are not living in it. Everything need not be captured. Instead live those moment with significant people. Smartphone was devised for the help but it has actually captivated people. I am planning to add some no gadget days in my life.

Gut Feeling is Always Right
Gut feeling is always right. Trust it. Who knows what it is trying to tell.

Silence is Golden
Don’t speak just for the sake of speaking. Silence is perfectly alright when you have nothing meaningful to add. Silence is bliss in this chaotic world. Add a little silence in everyday life.

Take Control of Yourself
Take control of your life or someone else will. Own your actions. Put your heart into what you do and do it with gusto.

Never SMS When Angry
Written messages never serve the purpose when you are angry. Once the ‘Send’ button is clicked, there is no going back. Prefer face-to-face conversations while in anger mode.

Respect Time
Time is money and is limited. Respect it while you have it.

Speak up For Your Beliefs
If you believe in something, do something about it. Walk the walk. Speak, write, act, fight but do something for it. Make it better than yesterday.

Find Your Creative Side
Everyone has the unique gift of creativity. Explore your creative side. Why? Because that will bring the ultimate happiness to you. One of those kinds which can’t be bought.

Make Mistakes and Learn From Them
Everybody makes mistakes. The key is, not to repeat those mistakes. Learn from past mistakes. You are always welcome to make new ones.

Work Is Worship
Take your work very seriously. Aim to be the master in your craft and do it like you really mean it. Enjoy the little achievements like big ones and never let that curiosity die.

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I can go on but I will stop here.While I blow the candles and cut my cake, I leave you with this post. Hoping some of the lessons will resonate with you.